Why censor board removed Jana Nayagan's Ambedkar-TVK dialogue? Producer explains

Jana Nayagan producer K Venkata Narayana has said the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked the team behind the film to remove a dialogue that mentioned both BR Ambedkar and Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) before the film could be cleared for release. Speaking ahead of the film's July 23 release, the KVN Productions producer said the line was among the board's main objections.

According to Narayana, the original dialogue suggested that if Ambedkar's Constitution was not followed, TVK's constitution would come into force. He said the line was meant in a simpler and more relatable way than it was interpreted.

He told NDTV that the dialogue was meant to explain the consequences of not following rules in everyday language. He said, "If you don’t follow the constitution, what will be the consequences? In a more relatable way, it has been put across. It’s common language. Even at home, you will tell the child, if you don’t follow the rule that has been made, next follows the consequence,” he said, adding, “Since there was a reference to some political language, we were asked to make that correction. We respect the law of the land. Wherever they asked us to make corrections, we carried out those modifications.”

Narayana said the board also directed the makers to modify a shot of a book cover featuring Ambedkar's image. He said some religious references were either muted or removed. The words Bhagavatham, Ranganathar and OM were muted in the soundtrack, while OM was also deleted from a dialogue linked to Operation Meluha in the film. Overall, nearly 20 seconds were cut and around 10 seconds were replaced, he said.

On the changes made after a seven-month effort to obtain certification, Narayana said a film cannot be released without the board's approval and the makers had to comply.

His comments are the most detailed explanation so far of the objections raised to Jana Nayagan, whose certification became a major issue in recent Tamil cinema. After the film was submitted in December 2025, a five-member examining committee recommended a U/A 16+ certificate with cuts. The film was sent again after those changes after a member who watched the film flagged certain scenes that could potentially hurt people's sentiments. Also, the film was reportedly put on hold due to its political undertones, which could be influential for Vijay in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections held in April.

Following the complaint, the CBFC chairperson later referred it to the revising committee, stopping the certification process. The dispute then reached the Madras High Court and dragged on for a month. The makers later withdrew their petition, resubmitted the film and eventually received an A certificate.

Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan features Vijay, Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain and Priyamani. The film has widely been reported to be a remake of Anil Ravipudi's Telugu hit Bhagavanth Kesari, though the makers have not confirmed it. After months of delay and several changes, it is now set for a worldwide release on July 23.

Jana Nayagan producer K Venkata Narayana has said the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked the team behind the film to remove a dialogue that mentioned both BR Ambedkar and Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) before the film could be cleared for release. Speaking ahead of the film's July 23 release, the KVN Productions producer said the line was among the board's main objections.

According to Narayana, the original dialogue suggested that if Ambedkar's Constitution was not followed, TVK's constitution would come into force. He said the line was meant in a simpler and more relatable way than it was interpreted.

He told NDTV that the dialogue was meant to explain the consequences of not following rules in everyday language. He said, "If you don’t follow the constitution, what will be the consequences? In a more relatable way, it has been put across. It’s common language. Even at home, you will tell the child, if you don’t follow the rule that has been made, next follows the consequence,” he said, adding, “Since there was a reference to some political language, we were asked to make that correction. We respect the law of the land. Wherever they asked us to make corrections, we carried out those modifications.”

Narayana said the board also directed the makers to modify a shot of a book cover featuring Ambedkar's image. He said some religious references were either muted or removed. The words Bhagavatham, Ranganathar and OM were muted in the soundtrack, while OM was also deleted from a dialogue linked to Operation Meluha in the film. Overall, nearly 20 seconds were cut and around 10 seconds were replaced, he said.

On the changes made after a seven-month effort to obtain certification, Narayana said a film cannot be released without the board's approval and the makers had to comply.

His comments are the most detailed explanation so far of the objections raised to Jana Nayagan, whose certification became a major issue in recent Tamil cinema. After the film was submitted in December 2025, a five-member examining committee recommended a U/A 16+ certificate with cuts. The film was sent again after those changes after a member who watched the film flagged certain scenes that could potentially hurt people's sentiments. Also, the film was reportedly put on hold due to its political undertones, which could be influential for Vijay in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections held in April.

Following the complaint, the CBFC chairperson later referred it to the revising committee, stopping the certification process. The dispute then reached the Madras High Court and dragged on for a month. The makers later withdrew their petition, resubmitted the film and eventually received an A certificate.

Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan features Vijay, Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain and Priyamani. The film has widely been reported to be a remake of Anil Ravipudi's Telugu hit Bhagavanth Kesari, though the makers have not confirmed it. After months of delay and several changes, it is now set for a worldwide release on July 23.